APPENDICES

Acadians Who Found Refuge in Louisiana, February 1764-early 1800s

BELLARD

[BELL-ard, buh-LARD]

ACADIA

According to the Acadian Memorial in St. Martinville, Louisiana, Antoine, fils, son of Antoine Bellard, père and Marie-Françoise Galland of Picardie, northern France, was Acadian.   He was living in Maryland when he married Marie, daughter of Acadians Honoré Trahan and Marie Corporon, in the 1760s.  

LE GRAND DÉRANGEMENT

In 1769, Antoine Bellard, age 30, wife Marie Trahan, age 22, and their young son, Étienne-Simon, called Simon, age 2, left Port Tobacco, Maryland, for Louisiana aboard the ill-fated British vessel Britannia.  Also aboard the ship were Marie's parents, her brother Pierre, and five Lejeune cousins.  

No group of Acadians who came to Louisiana suffered as much as these folks to get to the promised land.  The Britannia (sometimes spelled Britania) left Port Tobacco, Maryland, for New Orleans on 5 January 1769, with seven Acadian families aboard.  Also on the ship were eight Catholic German families who, for reasons of their own, no longer wanted to live in a British colony.  The crew of the Britannia sighted the coast of Louisiana on February 21, but the captain of the ship, either through bad luck or incompetence, missed the mouth of the Mississippi because of heavy fog.  Strong winds drove the ship westward, and a few days later the Britannia ran onto the Texas coast at Espiritu Santo Bay.  The crew went ashore and located a Spanish officer, who suspected them of being spies or smugglers.  Instead of giving them food and fresh water, he arrested them and ordered his men to escort everyone on the ship to the interior post of La Bahía.  The passengers and crew of the Britannia remained at La Bahía for six long months, waiting for the Spanish authorities to decide their fate.  While at La Bahía, they were forced to work as semi-slaves around the presidio and on nearby ranches.  Finally, in early September, a Spanish officer arrived at the presidio with instructions for the commandant there to send the captives overland to Natchitoches in central Louisiana. They could not return to the abandoned Britannia because the Spanish and the coastal Indians had stripped the vessel so thoroughly it was no longer seaworthy.  On September 11, the Acadians joined the other passengers and the English crew on the 420-mile trek to Natchitoches, which they did not reach until late October.  Louisiana Governor O'Reilly, meanwhile, had decided that the Acadian families in the group would settle at Natchitoches because of their familiarity with the growing of rye and wheat.  Natchitoches settlers welcomed the newcomers and supplied them with food, tools, and animals.  The German families were told that they could continue on to New Orleans via the Red and Mississippi rivers, pick up supplies, and then settle at St.-Gabriel d'Iberville on the Mississippi.  The Germans accompanied the English crew to New Orleans and arrived there on November 9.  Most of the Acadians, meanwhile, refused to remain at Natchitoches, which was too far away from their compatriots to the south.  They, too, left the Red River valley and joined their relatives in the established Acadian communities at St.-Gabriel and Opelousas.  

LOUISIANA:  WESTERN SETTLEMENTS

After the Acadians from the Britannia refused to remain at Natchitoches Post, the Spanish authorities in Louisiana relented and allowed them to settle where they wanted to in the colony.  Antoine Bellard and his family lived for a time on the river at St.-Gabriel and then crossed the Atchafalaya Basin to the Opelousas District in the 1770s.  

Descendants of Antoine BELLARD (c1739-1805)

Antoine Bellard and Marie Trahan had many more children in Louisiana.  Their daughters married into the Doucet, LeBoeuf, Ledoux, Matte, and Pariseau families.  Antoine remarried to Marie, daughter of Acadian Jacques Foret and widow of Jean-Baptiste Aucoin, at Opelousas in October 1797.  Antoine died at Opelousas in February 1805; the priest who recorded his burial said that Antoine was 63 years old when he died; his youngest daughter was born posthumously six months later.  Most of his sons created families of their own in St. Landry Parish.  Some of his grandsons moved to the Church Point area of what is now Acadia Parish.  

1

Oldest son Étienne-Simon, called Simon, by his first wife, born probably in Maryland in c1767, married Marie-Louise, called Élise or Louise, daughter of fellow Acadian Michel Comeaux, at Opelousas in August 1790; strangely, the marriage was recorded in the parish's slave register.  Their son Jean was born at Opelousas in March 1795, a son, name unrecorded, died at age 3 months in 1802, Norbert was born in July 1803, and David, also called Cadet, was baptized at the Opelousas church, age 1, in February 1806.  Their daughters married into the Carrière family.  

1a

Norbert married Marie Eloisine or Louise, called Loisine, daughter of fellow Acadian Éloi Doucet, in a civil ceremony in St. Landry Parish in January 1838.  Their son Norbert Marsena or Marcellin, called Marcellin, was born in St. Landry Parish in October 1838, Joseph in June 1842, Alfred in October 1845, Jules in December 1848, and Louis Demosthène near Church Point, then in St. Landry but now in Acadia Parish, in June 1851.  In November 1850, the federal census taker in St. Landry Parish counted 10 slaves--4 males and 6 females, all black, ranging in age from 26 to 2--on Norbert Bellard's farm.  Norbert died in St. Landry Parish in January 1852; he was 49 years old; his succession record was filed at the Opelousas courthouse the following month.  In 1860, the federal census taker in St. Landry Parish counted 3 slaves--a 17-year old mulatto male, a 26-year-old black female, and a 15-year-old black female, living in a single house--on Mary S. Bellard's farm; this may have been Norbert's widow.  

Marcellin married Célestine, daughter of French Creole Don Louis Carrière, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in May 1859.  Their son Joseph le jeune was born in St. Landry Parish in April 1859.  

Joseph may have married Marie Doucet in the early 1860s.  

1b

David married Sydalise, daughter of French Creole Zenon Carrière, in a civil ceremony in St. Landry Parish in July 1848.  Their son Christoval had born in St. Landry Parish in July 1843, Simon in June 1845, Alfred le jeune in May 1848, and David, fils was born in December 1849.  Their daughter married into the Miller family.  In November 1850, the federal census taker in St. Landry Parish counted 11 slaves--7 males and 4 females, 8 blacks and 3 mulattoes, ranging in age from 56 to 3--on David Bellard's farm.  David, père died in St. Landry Parish in November 1850; he was only 45 years old; his succession record was filed at the Opelousas courthouse house the following month.  

During the War Between the States, Christoval served in Company B of the 18th Regiment Louisiana Infantry, a front-line unit raised in St. Landry Parish that fought gallantly in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana; he was wounded at the Battle of Shiloh, Tennessee, in April 1862 but survived the war.  

2

Louis Divine, by his first wife, born at Ascension, on the river above St.-Gabriel, in November 1772, may have died young.  

3

Antoine, fils, by his first wife, baptized at the Opelousas church, age 3 months, in September 1780, married Marie, daughter of fellow Acadian Jean-Baptiste Aucoin, at Opelousas in November 1802; Marie's was Antoine, fils's stepsister.   Their daughter married into the Lejeune family.  Antoine, fils died by March 1827, when his estate record was filed at the Opelousas courthouse; he would have been 47 years old that year. 

4

Louis, by his first wife, born at Opelousas in August 1782, may have married Marie Janise.  Their daughter married a Janise cousin.    

5

Michel, by his first wife, born probably at Opelousas in the early 1780s, married Catherine, daughter of French Creole Hubert Janise, at Opelousas in February 1806; Catherine's mother was a Brasseaux.  Their son Julien was born in St. Landry Parish in July 1815.  Michel remarried to Francoise, daughter of French Creole Francois Gallien, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in October 1824.  Their son Michel, fils was born in St. Landry Parish in May 1828, François in December 1830, and Cyprien in March 1833.  By the 1840s, they had moved to Calcasieu Parish. 

Julien, by his first wife, married fellow Acadian Hélène Richard in a civil ceremony in St. Landry Parish in July 1849.  

6

Youngest son Pierre, by his second wife, baptized at Opelousas, age unrecorded, in June 1799, married Denise, 38-year-old daughter of Charles Bourassa, at the Opelousas church in November 1831; Denise's mother was an Acadian Lalande.  Their son Pierre, fils had been born in St. Landry Parish in August 1823 but was not baptized at the Opelousas church until February 1832, Antoine le jeune was born in May 1832, and Charles in December 1833.  Their daughters married into the Lebleu and Matte families.  Pierre, père died at Prairie Plaisance, north of Opelousas, in December 1859; the priest who recorded his burial said that Pierre was 65 years old when he died.  In 1860, the federal census taker in St. Landry Parish counted a single slave--an 8-year-old mulatto female--on Pierre Bellard's farm.  

6a

Antoine le jeune married French Canadian Louisa Matte in a civil ceremony in St. Landry Parish in November 1853, and sanctified the marriage at the Church Point church, then in St. Landry but now in Acadia Parish, in April 1857.  Their son Antoine, fils was born near Church Point in May 1856, Pierre in March 1858, and Marc in February 1859. 

6b

Charles married Caroline, daughter of French Creole Julien Lebleu, in a civil ceremony in St. Landry Parish in September 1860, and sanctified the marriage at the Church Point church in May 1861.  Their son Charles, fils was born near Church Point in October 1863. 

Other BELLARDs on the Western Prairies

Area church and civil records make it difficult to link some Bellards in the western parishes with known Acadian lines of the family there:

Valéry Bellard married Émelie Bellevue.  Their son Valérien was born in St. Landry Parish in April 1840.  

Joseph Bellard married Sidonie or Sidonise Frugé.  Their twin sons David le jeune and Florian were born in St. Landry Parish in September 1840, and Théodat in May 1842.  

Édouard Marie Billard married Eléonore Littell at the Grand Coteau church, St. Landry Parish, in April 1840.  The priest who recorded the marriage did not bother to give the couple's parents' names.  Was Édouard Marie an Acadian Bellard?

Louis Bellard married Célese, Celine, or Célise Carrière in a civil ceremony in St. Landry Parish in May 1857.  Their son Louis, fils had been born in St. Landry Parish in December 1844, Octave in November 1849, Pierre in August 1852, and Joseph in March 1854.  Their daughters married into the Gautreaux, Lantier, and Thibodeaux families.  Louis may have remarried to Acadian Marie Louise Thibodeaux, widow of Urbin Lavergne, in a civil ceremony in St. Landry Parish in August 1858.  

Marie Bellard married Louis Doucet in a civil ceremony in St. Landry Parish in September 1859.  The parish clerk who recorded the marriage did not give the couple's parents' names. 

Appolaire Bellard married Octavie Lafleur and settled near Ville Platte, then in St. Landry but now in Evangeline Parish, by the late 1850s.  

Onésime Bellard married Caroline McCarthy or McCarty at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in May 1865.  The priest who recorded the marriage did not give the couple's parents' names. 

NON-ACADIAN FAMILIES in LOUISIANA

Bellard is a fairly common surname in France and French Canada, so it is not surprising that other families of that name, or names spelled similarly, settled in South Louisiana:

Marie, daughter of Louis Beliard and Michelle Durand of Jalay, Diocese of Angers, France, and widow of Francois Diner, married Jean-Baptiste, son of Claude Lapierre, at New Orleans in April 1730.  

~

During the antebellum period, a French-Canadian family with a similar name settled amongst the Acadian Bellards in St. Landry Parish: 

Descendants of Pierre BELLARD (?-c1847)

Pierre, son of Joseph Beler or Belere and Catherine Radidou of Canada, married Constance, daughter of French Creole Joseph Andrépont, at the Opelousas church, St. Landry Parish, in August 1820.  All of their children were born in St. Landry Parish.  Their daughters married into the Dupré and Mouille families.  Pierre's succession record was filed at the Opelousas courthouse in June 1847.  His sons do not seem to have created families of their own, so, except for its blood, this line of the family may not have survived in the Bayou State.  

1

Oldest son Pierre, fils, born in December 1827, died at age 2 in February 1830.

2

Alphonse, born  in April 1837, also may have died young.  

3

Augustin, born in August 1838, may have died young, too.  

CONCLUSION

Antoine Bellard of Picardie, France, may have lived in greater Acadia before Le Grand Dérangement.  He ended up in Maryland, where he married Acadian Marie Trahan probably in the 1760s.  In 1769, Antoine, Marie, and their two-year-old son Étienne-Simon, along with some of Marie's relatives, were among the hapless passengers who came to Louisiana from Port Tobacco, Maryland, aboard the English schooner Britannia.  After harrowing adventures in the Gulf of Mexico and Spanish Texas, the Bellards settled on the river above New Orleans and then moved to the Opelousas District, where Antoine's many sons and daughters, including some from a second marriage, set down roots in present-day St. Landry and Acadia parishes. ...

The family's name also is spelled Belaire, Belar, Belard, Belart, Beler, Beller.  

Sources:  1850 U.S. Federal Census, Slave Schedules, St. Landry Parish; 1860 U.S. Federal Census, Slave Schedules, St. Landry Parish; BRDR, vol. 2; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, vols. 1-A, 1-B, 2-A, 2-B, 2-C, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7; NOAR, vol. 1; <thecajuns.com/britania.htm>"Passengers on the Ship 'Britania."

Settlement Abbreviations 
(present-day parishes that existed during the War Between the States in parenthesis; hyperlinks on the abbreviations take you to brief histories of each settlement):

For a chronology of Acadian Arrivals in Louisiana, 1764-early 1800s, see Appendix.

The hyperlink attached to an individual's name is connected to a list of Acadian immigrants for a particular settlement and provides a different perspective on the refugee's place in family and community. 

NOTES

01.  Wall of Names, 11, calls him Antoine BELLARD; <thecajuns.com/britania.htm>, "Passengers on the Ship 'Britania'," calls him Antoine BELAR [BELAIR, BELLARD]; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-A: 42-43 (Opel. Ch.: v.1-A, p.75), the record of his second marriage, calls him Antoine BELLARD of Picardie, gives his & his wife's parents' names, her first husband's name, & says the witnesses to his marriage were Silvain SONNIER, Charles COMMAUX, & Charles JEANSONNE; Hébert, D., Southwest LA Records, 1-B:38 (Opel. Ch.: v.1, p.77), his death/burial record, calls him Antoine BELLARD "originally from Picardie," says he died "at age about 63 yrs.," but does not give his parents' names or mention a wife.  See also De Ville, Southwest LA Families, 1777, 27.  

His birth year is calculated from the age given in the Opelousas census of 1777, not the ship's log of 1769, which is often grossly inaccurate.  The age found in his burial record seems too young.

In Acadia, BELAIR was a dit for LEGENDRE.  Was this his family?  What brought him to MD?  When did he get there?  How long had he lived in Acadia/Nova Scotia before going to MD?  Or was he ever a resident of Acadia/Nova Scotia?  I have found no Acadian BELLARD family in either Arsenault, Généalogie or White, DGFA-1, only in Wall of Names, which I trust has found an Acadian origin for this fellow.  We may have to wait on White, DGFA-2 for the real story on this family. 

02.  Wall of Names, 11, calls him Étienne-Siméon BELLARD; <thecajuns.com/britania.htm>, "Passengers on the Ship 'Britania'," calls him Etienne-Simon BELAR.

[top of page BELLARD]

Copyright (c) 2006-12  Steven A. Cormier